Unity kept off balance could benefit Clearwater

TROXLER E-mail: Click here Archive

© St. Petersburg Times
published March 4, 2002

CLEARWATER -- There are two interesting story lines about Clearwater's upcoming city election on March 12.

The first is the debut of Pinellas County's new touch screen voting machines.

The second is the re-election campaign of Ed Hart. Hart is a city commissioner who stands accused of being the closest thing to a naysayer left in City Hall, and therefore is the target of the yea-sayers.

First, the voting machines. I watched a demo the other day at Morton Plant Hospital. Most people did great, but some didn't. It wasn't clear you had to slide in the little card until it clicked. Some people kept tapping on the glass with fingernails that didn't register. Let's hope overall it goes smoothly.

As for Clearwater's election itself: the mayor, Brian Aungst, raised so much money for his re-election that no one chose to run against him. But two City Commission members are up for new three-year terms.

One of these is Hoyt Hamilton, a hotel manager and agent for various players in the Philadelphia Phillies organization. His opponent is longtime resident Patricia Bates-Smith, who, among other things, is the sister of the excellent film star Kathy Bates. I picture her with an ax and shudder. Kathy, I mean.

The other race is more interesting. Ed Hart, 54, was elected in 1999. His resume is broad: math major turned psychology major turned seminarian, Presbyterian minister, certified public accountant, state official and owner of an employment agency.

It also is of note in social circles that his wife, Nancy Eckerd Hart, is daughter of Jack Eckerd, the retired drugstore magnate. (Times rules dictate that Eckerd be a "magnate.") Nancy is said to be, shall we say, strongly supporting her husband's campaign.

Hart's challenger is a second-time candidate named Frank Hibbard, a bank investment officer, who appears to be giving him a tough race. Hibbard criticizes Hart for failing to be a "unifying force" in Clearwater.

A quick review would be useful. Like the original Star Wars, Clearwater's recent political history comes in three chapters:

(1) The Great Naysayer, Fred Thomas, dominates the City Commission and focuses its energy on T-back swimsuits, and catching young people swearing on the beach.

(2) Mike Roberto, energetic new city manager, wants to change the world. Roberto flames out because of overzealous methods. Voters shoot down a big referendum.

(3) Brian Aungst, a Time-Warner executive, is elected mayor and ushers Roberto out. Aungst takes control, moves toward unofficial "strong mayor" status, changes the world some, gets re-elected unopposed.

The mild-mannered Hart was elected along with Aungst in 1999, both employing campaign consultant Mary Repper. But now they have parted ways. (I asked the mayor about Hart. He replied, diplomatically: "I am discouraged in the way that our relationship has developed.")

Hart's main offense appears to be that he is a pain in the neck on the City Commission. (Personally, I do not necessarily consider this a fatal flaw, but then, I also had a weak spot for Kathleen Ford in St. Petersburg.)

Hart wants to sit in on staff meetings. He wants copies of all the e-mails. He has asked more questions than the other commissioners about various projects. Some of his colleagues do not believe the elliptical Hart can be pinned down on what the heck he truly means.

Let us arbitrarily guess the percentage of Clearwater's naysayers (I use the term with affection) at, oh, heck, 25 to 30 percent. They do not want dramatic redevelopment of the beach, or dramatic anything. They do not want the city trying to make itself something that they think it isn't.

Hart is not comfortable as hero of the naysayers, but they have no place else to go, so he is their guy. "I am for progress," Hart protests. "I am for development. But I want reasonable and responsible development."

So Aungst presides over a Pax Brianna. Only Hart separates Clearwater from, as Hibbard puts it, unity. But unity, unchecked, always goes too far, and builds another crazy roundabout on the beach, or some other such thing. A naysayer's work is never done.

-- You can reach Howard Troxler at (727) 893-8505 or at troxler@sptimes.com.

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